Best Cities for Forest and Conservation Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where forest and conservation technicianss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	North DakotaState	1.36	$68,600	$74,082	17%
2	WisconsinState	1.25	$62,700	$67,931	21%
3	LouisianaState	1.21	$59,370	$65,893	21%
4	AlaskaState	1.20	$68,160	$65,350	24%
5	AlabamaState	1.19	$56,720	$65,121	20%
6	West VirginiaState	1.19	$54,600	$64,846	18%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.19	$64,440	$64,764	28%
8	ArkansasState	1.13	$53,290	$61,750	20%
9	MississippiState	1.13	$52,420	$61,816	20%
10	OklahomaState	1.12	$53,930	$60,938	22%
11	South CarolinaState	1.11	$55,910	$60,772	27%
12	South DakotaState	1.11	$54,770	$60,319	21%
13	MinnesotaState	1.10	$58,990	$60,194	26%
14	MarylandState	1.09	$64,980	$59,505	31%
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.09	$66,930	$59,335	36%
16	PennsylvaniaState	1.08	$57,370	$59,144	27%
17	IowaState	1.07	$52,000	$58,296	22%
18	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.07	$54,060	$58,443	26%
19	New MexicoState	1.06	$53,000	$57,609	24%
20	WyomingState	1.05	$53,290	$57,301	22%
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.04	$60,270	$56,966	33%
22	ArizonaState	1.03	$56,660	$56,155	32%
23	NebraskaState	1.03	$51,630	$56,426	24%
24	IdahoState	1.01	$53,290	$55,223	27%
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$59,610	$55,297	36%
26	ColoradoState	1.00	$57,550	$54,602	38%
27	GeorgiaState	1.00	$50,710	$54,293	33%
28	MontanaState	1.00	$52,420	$54,378	26%
29	TexasState	1.00	$52,200	$54,603	32%
30	IllinoisState	0.99	$52,790	$54,199	30%
31	IndianaState	0.99	$48,660	$53,768	26%
32	NevadaState	0.99	$54,230	$54,122	32%
33	OhioState	0.99	$48,840	$54,027	26%
34	OregonState	0.99	$55,910	$54,282	34%
35	VermontState	0.97	$54,160	$52,839	32%
36	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$51,540	$53,025	37%
37	CaliforniaState	0.96	$58,120	$52,502	47%
38	TennesseeState	0.96	$47,940	$52,393	31%
39	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$61,110	$52,455	44%
40	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.96	$48,380	$52,587	32%
41	FloridaState	0.95	$52,420	$51,645	39%
42	MassachusettsState	0.95	$56,480	$52,055	48%
43	New YorkState	0.95	$58,030	$51,582	38%
44	North CarolinaState	0.94	$48,360	$51,229	32%
45	WashingtonState	0.93	$54,160	$50,475	42%
46	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$54,500	$50,230	45%
47	MichiganState	0.91	$45,760	$49,577	29%
48	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.91	$56,610	$49,528	47%
49	KentuckyState	0.90	$43,660	$49,333	26%
50	New HampshireState	0.89	$51,630	$48,708	37%
51	UtahState	0.88	$47,940	$47,844	37%
52	VirginiaState	0.88	$49,960	$48,271	38%
53	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.87	$57,160	$47,554	66%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$45,340	$47,131	41%
55	KansasState	0.85	$41,660	$46,289	30%
56	HawaiiState	0.83	$50,040	$45,491	57%
57	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.83	$43,500	$45,407	41%
58	MissouriState	0.70	$33,920	$38,284	37%
59	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.67	$33,920	$36,552	45%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).